ECB to Assess Bank Ownership Changes Under EU Plan, Il Sole Says

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank would gain
the power to vet potential owners of banks under a European
Commission proposal to create a single financial supervisor in
the euro area, according to a document published by Il Sole 24
Ore.

The Frankfurt-based central bank “should have the task to
assess the acquisition and disposal of significant holdings in
credit institutions,” according to a document published on the
Milan-based newspaper’s website today that was identified as a
draft of the commission’s proposal.

A board for supervisory issues would be created in the ECB
led by a member of the Governing Council and composed of
officials from the central bank and national authorities,
according to the document. A commission spokesman declined to
confirm the document’s authenticity or to comment on its
publication when contacted by Bloomberg News.

The ECB would oversee all banks in the euro area and have
consolidated supervision powers over financial holding
companies, according to the document. The ECB would be able to
levy fees on the industry to cover the costs of supervision and
could perform inspections and impose sanctions under some
circumstances. The central bank would also be charged with
granting and revoking banking licenses in consultation with
member states, the document states.

National regulators would need to coordinate closely with
the central bank, according to the document. Under the plan,
national governments would retain oversight of tasks including
payments services, supervising branches of non-EU banks, and
preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.